[pilchard123]

There is a Douglas Adams quote from 1999 similar to that:

> I don't think anybody would argue now that the Internet isn’t becoming a major factor in our lives. However, it's very new to us. Newsreaders still feel it is worth a special and rather worrying mention if, for instance, a crime was planned by people "over the Internet." They don’t bother to mention when criminals use the telephone or the M4, or discuss their dastardly plans "over a cup of tea," though each of these was new and controversial in their day.

https://douglasadams.com/dna/19990901-00-a.html

[da_chicken]

Worth remembering that King Charles II banned coffeehouses after returning from exile in Europe because he knew the anti-monarchy opposition groups met and discussed things in coffeehouses.

https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/the-coffeehouse-culture/

[dgb23]

Thank you for sharing this. This is such a deliciously cartoonish fact.

If this weren't true, people would possibly make it up in order joke about how autocratic, out of touch and futile such regulation is.

[lostlogin]

I wonder if this explains cafes in Britain? They just don’t work quite right in the UK. Cafes end up being more like tea rooms, and pubs seem to fill the role of ‘place to meet friends, grab foot and a beverage’.

I’m from Auckland, New Zealand. I also completely acknowledge that our pubs aren’t even close to as good as the ones in every single UK town.

[jacquesm]

What the King missed is that it was not to discuss anti-monarchy opposition but simply to get out of that infernal and eternal rain.

[pbjtime]

I picture him loudly declaring, "That'll do it!" and dusting off his hands

[seanw444]

> They don’t bother to mention when criminals use the telephone or the M4

What is the "M4" in this case? If it's the rifle, that's all they can focus on anymore.

[e2le]

I assume they were referring to the motorway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_motorway

[smlavine]

It's a British highway.